An 18-year-old who reportedly lost his balance and fell off a CTA el platform on Chicago’s South Side was killed when he was struck by a train on June 24. The young man at one time had attended Hauser Junior High School in Riverside.
According to published reports, Gabriel M. Ciupeiu fell off of the Red Line platform at 35th Street at about 1:30 p.m., near Guaranteed Rate Field, where the Chicago White Sox play. The team was playing that afternoon.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, Ciupeiu lived on the Northwest Side of Chicago. WGN and ABC news reported that a CTA spokesperson said Ciupeiu, who was on his bicycle on the platform, lost his balance and fell in front of an oncoming northbound train.
A death notice provided by Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home, noted that Ciupeiu attended Hauser Junior High School for a short time and that he had family in North Riverside. He worked as a busboy at a steak house in Chicago.
A friend of the family has started a Gofundme account to help pay for funeral expenses. The campaign had raised more than $9,300 of the $30,000 goal as of June 27.
Ciupeiu’s obituary, including funeral arrangements, can be found on page 20.
— Bob Uphues
